METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IN-LINE ADDRESS QUALITY AND MAIL PREPARATION ON AN INDICIA PRINTING SYSTEM
The present application generally relates to mail processing equipment and techniques. More specifically, the present application relates to a mail processing system and related method for transporting and imaging addressed mail pieces of a mailing to qualify the mailing for postage discounts. An address analysis component of the mail processing system compares the address included on a respective mail piece to postal authority standards for compliance with requirements for discounted postage based on pre-sort rules. A postage metering component prints the discounted postage indicia and a printing component prints delivery point barcodes.
This application is a divisional of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/775,731 filed May 7, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/178,653 entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENHANCED SERVICES ON A MAIL PROCESSING SYSTEM” filed on May 15, 2009, the disclosures of which are entirely incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present subject matter generally relates to a system and method for transporting and imaging a mail piece having a printed mailing address. An address analysis component of the system compares the address included on a mail piece to postal standards for compliance with requirements for discounted postage based on pre-sort rules. A postage metering component prints the discounted postage indicia and a printing component prints delivery point barcodes.
BACKGROUNDThe United States Postal Service (USPS®) is in the process of updating many of its requirements for delivery point barcode application to mail pieces and its rules for mail preparation required to earn postage discounts. The barcode change is a conversion to the Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb). The IMb will replace the POSTNET and PLANET barcodes and most of the information in the key line and endorsement line printed on the envelope. The mail postage discounts are driven largely by the pre-sort and address quality requirements where groupings of delivery points are defined by the USPS (e.g., MX-AADC, AADC, 3-digit, and 5-digit sort groups). AADC stands for Automated Area Distribution Center, where USPS will perform the in depth mail sorting needed to facilitate mail delivery. Each group receives a postage discount if the mail pieces are sorted to the corresponding group and at least 150 mail pieces are in the group. All of the discounts listed require sorting of the mail pieces into pre-sort groupings except for Mixed AADC. Mixed AADC requires that all of the mail pieces have a valid delivery point barcoded on the mail piece.
In order to earn mail postage discounts, address list service providers have to make all addresses in a mailing list meet postal authority standards for quality and move up and reorder the addresses in the list into pre-sort groupings. Using the address data for the mail pieces the mailing is then manufactured on a mail inserting or wrapping system. Inserters and wrappers are large and expensive machines designed to produce hundreds of thousand to millions of mail pieces per day. Alternatively, mail that is prepared for delivery to the USPS maybe processed on a mail sorter. The mail sorter processes each mail piece and checks or corrects the address for quality and move update and puts the mail pieces into pre-sort groups using hundreds of sort bins. Mail sorters also are expensive machines capable of processing in excess of 30,000 mail pieces per hour. However, there is no option for a small volume mailer to earn mail postage discounts on their own with a mailing machine that can meet USPS standards and be affordable to the small mailer. In addition, inserters and sorters are not able to print the correct postage indicia on each mail piece based on weight and pre-sort postage discount that the mail piece has been qualified to receive. Currently, postage meters can not operate at the throughput rate associated with sorters. Although postage meters are integrated onto inserters and can adjust the postage applied based on weight, they can neither adjust postage applied based on pre-sort discount qualification, nor can they print a delivery point barcode in the clear zone based on address quality updates.
Hence a need exists for a system and method that can meet the needs of a variety of sized mailers such as postage metering and integrate the functionality needed to qualify for mail discounts.
SUMMARYIt is desirable to provide for a mail processing system for processing a plurality of mail pieces in mailing to qualify the mailing for postage discounts. The system includes a feeder and transport for individually feeding and transporting each of the plurality of mailpieces. An image capturing device is positioned along the transport for capturing an image of an address positioned on each of the plurality of mail pieces. An address quality processing device reads the address image of a respective one of the mailpieces and obtains a postal authority qualified delivery point code for the respective mail piece. A system processor is configured to receive the postal authority qualified delivery point code; generate printer control data for printing discounted postage meter indicia on the respective mail piece; and create printer control data for printing a postal authority approved delivery point barcode on the respective mail piece. At least one digital printer prints the discounted postage meter indicia and the authority approved delivery point barcode on the respective mail piece.
It is further desirable to provide for a method of qualifying a mailing including a plurality of addressed mail pieces for mailing postage discounts. The method includes loading the plurality of mail pieces onto a feeder for individually feeding each mail piece into a mail processing system. A respective one of the mailpieces is transported to an imaging component of the mail processing system. An address of the respective mailpiece is imaged. The address image is read with an optical character recognition (OCR) device. The read address of the respective mail piece is qualified to postal authority standards. A weight for the respective mailpiece is obtained. A pre-sort mail discounted meter postage indicia is printed and is based on the qualified address and the obtained weight. A postal authority delivery point barcode is printed and corresponds to the delivery point of the qualified address in the clear zone on the mailpiece.
It is yet further desirable to provide for a method of processing a mailing including a plurality of addressed mail pieces. The method includes loading the plurality of mail pieces onto a feeder for individually feeding a first and second mail piece into a mail processing system. The first and second mailpieces are individually transported to an imaging component of the mail processing system. An address for each of the first and second mailpieces is imaged. The address images of the first and second mail pieces are read with an (OCR) device. The read addresses of the first and second mail pieces are compared to a client address list to determine if the read addresses of the first and second mail piece are present on the client list. The first mail piece is rejected upon a determination that the read address of the first mail piece is determined not to be on the client list or the first mail piece is marked to be purged. The processing of the second mail piece is continued upon a determination that the read address of the second mail piece is determined to be on the client list.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or may be learned by production or operation of the examples. The objects and advantages of the present teachings may be realized and attained by practice or use of the methodologies, instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord with the present teachings, by way of example only, not by way of limitation. In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present teachings may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present teachings.
The teachings herein alleviate one or more of the above noted problems with a table top mailing machine that implements the USPS requirements for pre-sorted bulk mail discounted postage for the mixed AADC bulk mail postage discount rate for first class, Standard class and for non-profit standard class. Bulk mail is any grouping of mail pieces that make up a mailing that meets the postal authority standards required to qualify for postage discounts with no consideration to the class of the mailing. Other requirements, mostly having to do with Undeliverable as Addressed (UAA) mail pieces, are required to receive a postage discount. These requirements include having all addresses conform to the Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS); Delivery Point Validation DPV; SuiteLink and LACSLink requirements. In addition, conformance to the Move Update requirements with addresses that have been updated with NCOALink and move update notification to the customer or with Ancillary Service Endorsement selected must be performed. The table top mailing machine initially will use Address Service Requested since NCOALink is not currently available. Since the mail processing system is based on a digital meter platform, the correct discounted postage is printed on each qualifying mail piece and along with the correct delivery point barcode
The various features of the mail processing system 100 disclosed herein relate to a postage meter with a feeder, mail transport, envelope flag sealer, scale, an indicia printer and a barcode printer. The meter transport is upgraded with a multiline optical character reader (MLOCR) imaging system and address quality analysis processor to ensure that the addresses meet USPS standards before a delivery point barcode is printed. In an alternate solution, the mail processing system 100 will print permit postage indicia versus the normal postage meter indicia which include actual postage affixed.
Reference now is made in detail to the examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings and discussed below.
Those skilled in the art generally would consider a mailing as a group of mailpieces which are contained in trays. The mailing is one class of mail delivery service and usually qualifies for bulk mail discount postage. The USPS is transiting to the Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb) for the delivery point barcode. Examples included herein are not intended to limit the delivery point barcode to IMb format since the delivery point barcode will evolve and the mailing processing system will be updated to accommodate the changes by those skilled in the art. The mail processing system 100 includes a general purpose mail piece feeder 105 to singulate and feed one mail piece at a time into the transport 106 from a stack of mail pieces. The mail piece enters the transport 106 and is transported past the aperture of the imaging device 110 where an image of the entire mail piece is captured without stopping the transport 106. The mail piece is transported onto the scale 120 and held there until the address quality analysis results are reported from the address quality system. Additional hold time may be required in dynamic mode, while waiting for the weight results from the scale 120. If the mail piece weight is known in advance, such as with an identical weight mailing and the known weight is entered through the operator interface, the scale 120 is not utilized. The mail piece is transported from the scale 120 to the printing device 130 and into the stacker 155. The printing device 130 contains numerous digital print cartridges for printing addresses, indicia and Ancillary Service Endorsements 132 plus printing of a delivery point barcode in the clear zone 135. The operation interface 140 is provided with a touch screen display. User interface requirements that are needed for operation of the mail processing system 100 are controlled from the touch screen. An optional key board, which contains the system computer 150, is used for data entry and trouble shooting. Data entry and trouble shooting can be input by way of the operation interface 140 without the need of a keyboard. Optionally, system computer 150 can be separately housed from the key board or housed within or operably connected to the operation interface 140.
An optional report printer 350 (
Optionally, the mail processing machine 100 is connected to a server system 362 with a network connection to the system computer 150 or to the image processor computer 305. The server 362 is contained in the facility or is remotely connected. This server 362 may serve as the data center server for multiple functions in the facility. One function is to store the client mailing address list 365 that was used to address the mail pieces that make up the mailing being processed. Optionally, the client address mailing list 365 is used by the address quality processing 400
Reference now is made to
The imaging processing computer 305 performs the processing steps for address quality analysis 400 from the image of the mail piece 435. The address quality analysis starts with locating the address block including, line segmentation, word and character segmentation and optical character recognition (OCR) of the letters as shown in
The meter data processing system 440 illustrates the major components of the postage meter and the processing steps (442, 444, 446, 448) performed for bulk mail processing. The postage meter is accessible by way of touch screen 140 and a system computer 150. The system computer 150 interfaces with the Postage Security Device (PSD) 454 to obtain postage to be included in the meter indicia 320 and encoded in the IBI 315. Transport control is achieved through the control board 452 and the printer cartridges are interfaced to the system computer 150 by a print driver. Data storage 453 is provided to archive the mailing job data and individual mail piece data. A USPS certified digital postage meter has numerous additional features that are required to perform as a postage meter, which are not defined herein, since the features are well known by those skilled in the art.
The first step in processing the data returned from the address quality processing 400 is the delivery point data associated with an address that passed CASS and DPV 442. The delivery point data is used to build the IMb, 520 in
The fourth data field 13 of the IMb data structure is nine digits in length for high volume mailers and six digits in length for smaller sized mailers. Various USPS requirements dictate the structure of this number. For example, if the Confirm service and ACS are selected, this field may contain a unique number which remains unique for at least 45 days, which is substantially long enough to ensure no ambiguous tracking results can occur because two mail pieces with the same Mailer ID and identification number are in the postal network at the same time. The unique number may contain match back data or reference match back data provided the uniqueness requirement is met. If ACS is selected, the fourth data field 13 can be allocated for a match back code that is used to efficiently access the correct address data record in the client's address list. Use of a match back code may enable cost effective address and addressee record updating. The match back code may also serve as a unique identification number, thus allowing for both Confirm and ACS with match back. Since the mail processing system will initially use the basic IMb service, data field 13 can be a fixed number or might be derived for data field 2 in the IBI. The fifth data field 14 is reserved for the delivery point data (e.g., ZIPCODE) which can be 5, 9 or 11 digits in length to identify a delivery point address code. The delivery point data 14 is provided by the address quality processor 400 and must be 11 digits in length for the mail processing system.
Currently, the USPS offers the following services for address service requested. The mailpiece is forwarded to the new location when possible and a printed notice is returned to the mailer with the new address information. This notice is then used by the mailer to update the address list.
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- Months 1-12: the mailpiece is forwarded at no charge; the mailer is provided a separate notice of new address and charged an address correction fee (manual $0.50, electronic, see page one).
- Months 13-18: for First-Class Mail, the mailpiece is returned with the new address attached at no charge. For Standard Mail, the mailpiece is returned at a weighted fee. The weighted fee is 2.472 times the applicable single-piece First-Class Mail or Priority Mail postage.
- After month 18 or if undeliverable at any time: the mailpiece is returned with reason for non-delivery. Fee charged for Standard Mail.
- Other Ancillary Service Endorsements maybe utilized to give the mailer the move update service that is most suitable for their operation.
A different print cartridge 135 (
In
Processes 446 and 448 are required when the address quality processing 400 did not CASS qualify the address or the address failed DPV. Since these UAA mail pieces can not be included in the discounted bulk mailing, they are not printed with a discounted postage indicia and may be discarded. In this case, the indicia printing will be inhibited 446 and the mailing transport feeder 105 will be stopped 448. The UAA mail piece will be advanced to the top of the stack of processed mailpieces where it will have to be removed from the stack. Once the mail piece is removed, the operator can restart the system. Alternately, a diverter can be added to remove the UAA mail pieces. The mailing documentation will not reflect the removed or diverted mail pieces. As defined above, a tray label printer 345 and a report printer 350 are optionally attached to the system computer 150. Remote assess 470 may be provided to the system computer 150 to access data associated with each mailing and each mail piece processed.
Attention is now turned to
If a certified address response is not received S745, the mail piece 435 is advanced from the scale and through the printer assembly 130 to the output stack or optional diverter. The indicia 315, 320 and 321 are not printed and the delivery point barcode is not printed, step S750. In step S755, the operator is alerted that a UAA mail piece is in the stacker 155 (
In step 805, print file commands for printer 132 are created for the postage indicia 315, 320 which match the postage amount that corresponds to the qualified pre-sort bulk mail discounted postage rate and the class of delivery service 321 being processed. The print file for printer 132 includes the ancillary service endorsement (Address Service Requested) print commands. In step 806 the scale transport 121 and printer transport are started when the print file data derived from the address quality processing 400 is ready and the mail piece weight is measured (if weight is required). In step 807, the indicia line is printed by printer 132 and the barcode line is printed by printer 135 while the mail piece is transported under the digital print cartridges. Although the steps S760, S805, S806 and S807 are shown in sequential order, those skilled in the art will maximize throughput by performing as many of these steps in parallel as possible. For example, the mail piece maybe advanced off the scale while the print file data is compiled. As long as the print controller has the print control data before the mail piece is under the print cartridge, the printing operation will perform correctly. Data is compiled in step S810 for each mail piece to include the data from Tables 1, 2 and 3 and other relevant job data for use in client and postal authority documents plus mail piece item tracking. The mail piece data is accessible through the remote access 470 by scanning the IBI or IMb on individual mail pieces. If the mailing job is not complete S815, the feeder 105 is restarted to feed the next mail piece and control is returned S715 in
If the job is complete S815, checking the job data to be sure piece count minimums for the class of mail being processed are met or exceeded is done in step S820. The pre-sorted first class bulk mail discount is only available if the number of mail pieces processed is 500 or more and for pre-sorted standard mail the minimum is 200 mail pieces. These counts are displayed on the touch screen display 140 so that the operator can determine if the minimums are going to be met based on the mail available for the job. If minimum mail piece counts for a job or group of jobs for the same class of mail are not expected to be met before the mailing has to be closed and delivered to the postal authority, the operator has the option to find additional mail of the same class to add to the piece count. If additional mail is available, the minimums can be met and the loss of postage discounts avoided. If not, corrective action, step S825, is required when the minimums are not met. The corrective actions are, but are not limited to, paying the difference between the discounted rate and the single piece rate for each mail piece using a postage meter tape for the entire amount due, or if the total quantity of mail pieces for a given class are not expected to meet the minimums, the job can be extended into the next day provided that the date the mail will be submitted to the postal authority matches the date in the indicia. In addition, the mail pieces can be individually re-metered with the delta postage needed to meet the single piece rate. Mailing job and mail piece data records are archived in the data storage 453 and the mailing job is closed.
If the minimums are met S820, then the mailing job is closed and the job and individual mail piece records are archived in accordance with the business requirements, step S830. Individual client or department reports will be produced as required for the business and financial accounting. The postal authority reports that are required are minimal for mailings of less that 10,000 mail pieces in given day. The archived records maybe sufficient to recreate postal bulk mail documents if requested or official forms such as a postage statement may be needed. Since all the data needed for postal authority documentation is archived, the meter data processing system 440 can populate any form with the required data once the format of the form is specified. Optionally, the mail processing machine 100 or the server 362 will compile a listing of all address changes that were identified during the address quality processing 400. The address update list includes but is not limited to standard address format for CASS, Suite and apartment data from SuiteLink, rural route corrections from LACSLink and move update data from NCOALink. The reporting and data archiving is all part of closing the mailing jobs for each class of mail run in a given day. The mail processing system is reset to run new mailing jobs by restart the minimum mail piece counts. The final step S835 is to delivery the mail in mail trays, which have the correct tray label attached, to the postal authority bulk mail acceptance unit.
As shown by the above discussion, functions relating to the mail processing system 100 may be implemented on one or more computers 150 and 305 (
As known in the data processing and communications arts, a general-purpose computer typically comprises a central processor or other processing device, an internal communication bus, various types of memory or storage media (RAM, ROM, EEPROM, cache memory, disk drives etc.) for code and data storage, and one or more network interface cards or ports for communication purposes. The software functionalities involve programming; including executable code as well as associated stored data, e.g. files used for the workflow templates for a number of production jobs as well as the various files for tracking data accumulated during one or more productions runs. The software code is executable by the general-purpose computer that functions as the control processor and/or the associated terminal device. In operation, the code is stored within the general-purpose computer platform. At other times, however, the software may be stored at other locations and/or transported for loading into the appropriate general-purpose computer system. Execution of such code by a processor of the computer platform enables the platform to implement the methodology for generating an integrated mailpiece, in essentially the manner performed in the implementations discussed and illustrated herein.
For example, the system computer 150 and the image processing computer 305 may be a PC based implementation of a central control processing system like that of
In operation, the main memory stores at least portions of instructions for execution by the CPU and data for processing in accord with the executed instructions, for example, as uploaded from mass storage. The mass storage may include one or more magnetic disk or tape drives or optical disk drives, for storing data and instructions for use by CPU. For example, at least one mass storage system in the form of a disk drive or tape drive, stores the operating system and various application software as well as data. The mass storage within the computer system may also include one or more drives for various portable media, such as a floppy disk, a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), or an integrated circuit non-volatile memory adapter (i.e. PC-MCIA adapter) to input and output data and code to and from the computer system.
The system also includes one or more input/output interfaces for communications, shown by way of example as an interface for data communications with one or more other processing systems. Although not shown, one or more such interfaces may enable communications via a network, e.g., to enable sending and receiving instructions electronically. The physical communication links may be optical, wired, or wireless.
The computer system may further include appropriate input/output ports for interconnection with a display (140) and a keyboard (
The computer system runs a variety of applications programs and stores data, enabling one or more interactions via the user interface provided, and/or over a network to implement the desired processing, in this case, including those for performing address quality, indicia printing and metering, as discussed above.
The components contained in the computer system are those typically found in general purpose computer systems. Although summarized in the discussion above mainly as a PC type implementation, those skilled in the art will recognize that the class of applicable computer systems also encompasses systems used as host computers, servers, workstations, network terminals, and the like. In fact, these components are intended to represent a broad category of such computer components that are well known in the art. The present examples are not limited to any one network or computing infrastructure model—i.e., peer-to-peer, client server, distributed, etc.
Hence aspects of the techniques discussed herein encompass hardware and programmed equipment for controlling the relevant document processing as well as software programming, for controlling the relevant functions. A software or program product, which may be referred to as a “program article of manufacture” may take the form of code or executable instructions for causing a computer or other programmable equipment to perform the relevant data processing steps regarding the manufacturing of an integrated mailpiece, where the code or instructions are carried by or otherwise embodied in a medium readable by a computer or other machine. Instructions or code for implementing such operations may be in the form of computer instruction in any form (e.g., source code, object code, interpreted code, etc.) stored in or carried by any readable medium.
Such a program article or product therefore takes the form of executable code and/or associated data that is carried on or embodied in a type of machine readable medium. “Storage” type media include any or all of the memory of the computers, processors or the like, or associated modules thereof, such as various semiconductor memories, tape drives, disk drives and the like, which may provide storage at any time for the software programming. All or portions of the software may at times be communicated through the Internet or various other telecommunication networks. Such communications, for example, may enable loading of the relevant software from one computer or processor into another, for example, from a management server or host computer. Thus, another type of media that may bear the software elements includes optical, electrical and electromagnetic waves, such as used across physical interfaces between local devices, through wired and optical landline networks and over various air-links. The physical elements that carry such waves, such as wired or wireless links, optical links or the like, also may be considered as media bearing the software. As used herein, unless restricted to tangible “storage” media, terms such as computer or machine “readable medium” refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution.
Hence, a machine readable medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, a tangible storage medium, a carrier wave medium or physical transmission medium. Non-volatile storage media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as any of the storage devices in any computer(s) or the like. Volatile storage media include dynamic memory, such as main memory of such a computer platform. Tangible transmission media include coaxial cables; copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a bus within a computer system. Carrier-wave transmission media can take the form of electric or electromagnetic signals, or acoustic or light waves such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media therefore include for example: a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD or DVD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards paper tape, any other physical storage medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave transporting data or instructions, cables or links transporting such a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read programming code and/or data. Many of these forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processor for execution.
While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples, and that the teachings may be applied in numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein. It is intended by the following claims to claim any and all applications, modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the present teachings.
Claims
1. A method of processing a mailing including a plurality of addressed mail pieces, the method comprising:
- loading the plurality of mail pieces onto a feeder for individually feeding a first and second mail piece into a mail processing system;
- individually transporting first and second mailpieces to an imaging component of the mail processing system;
- imaging an address for each of the first and second mailpieces;
- reading the address images of the first and second mail pieces with an (OCR) device;
- comparing the read addresses of the first and second mail pieces to a client address list to determine if the read addresses of the first and second mail piece are present on the client list;
- rejecting the first mail piece upon a determination that the read address of the first mail piece is determined not to be on the client list or the first mail piece is marked to be purged; and
- continue processing the second mail piece upon a determination that the read address of the second mail piece is determined to be on the client list.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein continued processing of the second mail piece further comprises:
- obtaining a weight for the second mail piece;
- printing a pre-sort mail discounted meter postage indicia on the second mail piece based on the qualified address and the obtained weight; and
- printing a postal authority delivery point barcode on the second mail piece, which corresponds to the delivery point of the qualified address in the clear zone on the second mailpiece.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein rejecting the first mail piece further comprises:
- diverting the first mail piece from the mail processing system.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 18, 2016
Publication Date: May 18, 2017
Inventors: Mark Van Gorp (Cary, NC), Walter S. Conard (Saratoga Springs, NY), Rima Franklin (Downers Grove, IL), Mark Woolston (Copper Canyon, TX)
Application Number: 15/356,194